Bring Me Back To Life
by Alarkins
Summary: Elena and Damon have started their new life in Chicago, but Stefan's change has forced Damon back to Mystic Falls to help save his brother. During this struggle new and past enemies resurface and wreak havoc on the already hard task. This is the second story in my series so far. If you have not, please find Monsters Inside Me and read it first so everything makes sense.*Pro-Delena
1. Chapter 1

Things were starting to fall into place for Elena. Damon and her had been living in Chicago now for a good six months, and everything felt normal again. He had taken her back to Mystic Falls only twice since they had left. Once was strictly for Aunt Jenna, to make her believe that Elena's life really was going okay, and she wasn't just running to the city in denial. The other was to "celebrate" her family's former life. It was Aunt Jenna's version of a funeral complete with ceremony, guests, and a lot of pictures. It was a good way to put a close to the events. Even though she yearned to stay a couple of days, Damon assured her they couldn't. Enzo and Katherine were bound to be lurking around somewhere, possibly still looking for her. For now, the best thing to do would be to stay in Chicago as much as possible.

Elena secured a job down at Tonics as a waitress. Her and Mary had become close friends despite the fact that the little red head never seemed to stop talking. Damon had tried talking her out of working and just lazing around with him most days, but Elena had refused. Whether it was due to the fact of boredom, or she was just to proud spend the "Salvatore Reserve." She liked being a waitress. Tonics was a perfect little spot to work. It was never too crowded, and everyone there was relatively friendly. All she really had to do was be nice to the customers and deliver food. Simple enough. Elena refrained from working night shift, though, there was no telling who or what would be wondering into the restaurant after the sun had set. It was better to be safe than sorry.

While Elena worked, Damon could usually be found at Sal's, a hole in the wall bar a few blocks off of South Main. He was consistent at least. By four o'clock every afternoon he would be at Tonics in one of the front booths waiting for Elena to get off and walk her back to their place. They had a nice routine. Everything for Elena right now was easy and predictable. Then again, that's just what she finally needed.

It was nearing the end of her shift and Elena's eyes were starting to get heavy. A yawn escaped her as she tossed her half apron onto a hook in the back kitchen. Her messy pony tail hung much lower now than when she had started this morning. As she pushed open the swinging double doors she could see Damon get up from his usual spot and walk towards her. He wrapped her in a hug and kissed her forehead.

"Bye 'Lena! See you in the morning," Mary called out to her.

Elena waved to her and turned toward the front door. Her and Damon walked close together as they headed towards their apartment building. The sun was still high in the sky, but she felt like it could've been midnight by how tired she was.

"You look sleepy. Did you actually have to work today," Damon smirked at her.

"I work every day. Some days are just more draining than others," Elena replied.

Damon took her hand and lead her across the street and into their building. When they finally reached their door Damon opened it quickly. Elena walked in and collapsed down onto the sofa. She dug her face into one of the blue throw pillows.

"Poor thing, want me to run us a bath," Damon teased.

"That sounds perfect," Elena said still not looking up from the pillow.

She could hear him walk down the hallway. After a couple of minutes water was beating down against the porcelain tub. Hearing this gave her the motivation to pull herself from the couch and join Damon in the bathroom. He had already stripped out of his black v-neck shirt and was working on his jeans. Elena smiled as she took him in.

"You're blushing," he smiled at her.

"You just look too good," Elena giggled.

"Not to argue with you Ms. Gilbert, but I always look good," Damon was very cocky.

"But, to be fair, you look very good yourself. Especially when your clothes come off," he added.

Elena smiled and rolled her eyes. She peeled out of her blue, tight fitting t-shirt and tossed it in the clothes hamper by the door. She smelled like french fries and grease. She could only imagine how attractive that must be. Damon had already gotten into the bath tub. Steam was rising steadily from the water. Globs of bubbles peeked out over the edge. She finished getting undressed and slipped in with him. Her long hair fell down her shoulders as she pulled out the stretched out elastic band. She leaned against Damon's chest.

Damon smiled his crooked smile.

"You're too cute," he whispered to her.

Elena grinned and rested her head back against his shoulder. Damon wrapped his arms around her waist and laced their fingers together. They soaked there together until the bubbles had died away. Damon's phone started buzzing frantically on the granite counter top. He grumbled a bit but reluctantly got up and out of the warm water. He wrapped a stark white towel around his mid section and reached for his phone. Once he saw the name on his screen Damon excused himself to the bedroom.

"Hello little witch," Damon said begrudgingly.

"Damon, there's a whole list of people I'd rather be talking to right now, but it's about Stefan. He's turned it off again," Bonnie was frantic.

"I am aware. That is not my problem . Seeing how he happens to be your best friend that seems to be your problem. I have my own things I'm taking care of right now," he smirked.

"It's your brother we are talking about, so yes he is your problem too. Just because you've gone all soft with some girl doesn't mean she's the only thing in the world. Stefan will piss the wrong person off here soon, and if you don't want him to end up dead you better get him to turn it back on," Bonnie was raging.

"One, nobody is going to kill Stefan except for me. Two, you're all buddy buddy with him why don't you get him to turn it back on. I don't want to be the one coaching him through his self guilting phase. I've got more things to worry about than his humanity," Damon hissed.

Elena walked through the doorway, her towel draping dangerously low on her body. She smiled seductively at Damon.

"Damon can you just help me with this one thing. I will take care of him, but you're the only one he cares enough about to flip that switch. Now when-," Bonnie was cut off mid-sentence.

Damon tossed his phone to the floor and quickly took Elena into his arms. He trailed kisses up her neck and along her jaw line. Elena braced herself against the doorway. She giggled as he ran his hand up along her bare leg. Damon's phone vibrated against the wooden floor. He just let it ring out. He guided Elena's mouth to his and kissed her deeply. The phone started up, but again he ignored it. He wrapped his hands around both of her thighs and hoisted her legs up and around his waist. The towel still covered a majority of Elena's body, but Damon was intent on fixing that.

The phone sprang to life again. Damon pulled back and grumbled loudly. Elena pulled his face back to hers, but the kiss didn't last as long as she had hoped. He pulled back again and lowered her back down to the floor. Damon snatched up his phone and answered it.

"What do you want," he growled.

"I told you, Damon. This is important. Get your ass back here and help me get Stefan," Bonnie yelled.

"Who is it," Elena laid in bed and mouthed to him.

"I was in the middle of something, but your bitching has ruined it now. I'll be there tomorrow. Now leave me alone. "

Damon hung up the phone, flicked off the bedroom lights, and climbed into bed next to Elena. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against his chest.

"Now where were we," he buried his face into her neck.

"Who was that," Elena asked.

"Nobody important. Just an old, annoying friend that needs my help with something," Damon replied.

"So what does that mean? Where are you going?"

"Elena, honey, don't worry about it. It's really nothing, but I'll have to take a little trip back to Mystic Falls tomorrow. I normally wouldn't think it's worth it, but Stefan needs my help."

"Then I'm coming with you," she stated.

"No, it's not safe there for you. Plus, this is way over your head. It's best for you to just wait here and do your things like normal."

"It won't be normal. I don't want to stay here by myself. You never know what could happen while you're gone," Elena tried tugging at his heart strings, or better yet, his paranoia.

"I know you'll be fine Elena. It will only take a few days and then I'll be back here with you. Please just trust me on this."

Elena didn't answer him. She melted into his chest and closed her eyes. Of course she would be worried sick about him until he returned, but she couldn't fight him on this. She flipped herself around to face him and planted a soft kiss on his lips.

"I love you," she whispered.

Damon's eyes were still closed, but a small smile escaped him as she snuggled into him.


	2. Chapter 2

Elena stared up at the ceiling, trying to slow her racing mind. By now, Damon would be out of the city and on the road back to their home town. She would have to stay here and drag herself through the normal routine without him. With her mind refusing to shut back off Elena decided to get up, shower, and just head into work early. At least her job could distract her for most of the day.

"Elena!" Mary greeted her with a big smile as soon as she had walked through the door. She was already waiting on a table of three. For the most part, the place was pretty empty. Surely the crowd would pick up as the morning progressed. Elena put her things down in the back break room. Not too long after Mary came rushing in drilling her with questions.

"What are you doing here so early? Your shift isn't for another hour. Where's Damon? He's always with you. Are you fighting?"

" I have nothing better to do this morning sadly. No, he left earlier this morning. He went back to Virginia to see some family I think. He should be back in a few days. Nothing to worry about," Elena sighed.

"Well what are you doing tonight? Do you want to go out? Have a girls night maybe," Mary smiled brightly and cocked her eyebrow.

"Uh, sure I guess. Not the go out part. I'd rather stay in, but I'd love for you to come over. We can watch some movies or something."

"You're in a sleepless city, boyfriendless, and you want to stay in with me and watch movies. You need a night of fun. Come on. I won't let you do anything bad, but you need some fun too," Mary pushed.

" I'll think about it."

Elena tied an apron around her waist and headed out into the dining area. Another couple had come in and taken a seat. Plastering a fake smile across her face, Elena approached them. She took their orders and relayed them back to the kitchen. Work was slow. No customers were pouring in like they usually had. They were lucky to have even three tables filled at one time all morning. This wasn't as distracting as she needed it to be. She took her break a little after the lunch rush dissolved. Again, there wasn't much of a turn out, but she needed to a few minutes to call Damon. She dialed his number. After the fifth ring she was tempted to hang up. Obviously he was busy right now.

"Hey, Elena," His voice was stoic. Elena clutched the phone back to her face.

" Damon, hey, have you made it back yet. I just went on lunch and thought I'd call."

"Yeah, I'm here, but the person I came here to see isn't, so right now this is pretty pointless," he hissed.

"What do you mean? What now?"

"Stefan. I came back to help him, but he's not here. He's taken off with Sage. One of the absolute worst things that could happen. If I would've come up sooner, and not just blown him off this wouldn't have happened. Now I'll be lucky to even find them."

"I'm sorry. Is there anything I can do? I'd like to help," Elena urged.

" You're hours away from me babe, you can't do anything. Just stay there and stay out of trouble, I have enough to worry about right now. I'm going to dig around here for a little longer and see if I can find out where they went off to. I'll call you later."

"Easy enough. Be careful. Love you."

"You too." The line went dead. Elena picked at her lunch. Her heart ached knowing Damon wouldn't be there to walk her home tonight. He wouldn't be there to make her dinner, or cuddle her to sleep tonight. Not tonight, not tomorrow night, and maybe not even the night after that. Mary came in shortly and saw her pushing around her ketchup with a french fry.

"So are we on for tonight? Maybe we can go out to the bar down the road. I go there quite a bit, it's not too wild," Mary smiled.

"I told Damon I was just going to stay in. He's stressed out and I don't want him to worry about me too."

"Oh Elena, just come with me for an hour and then we can go back to your place and be boring. I promise no trouble. He won't even know any better," Mary pleaded. Elena rolled her eyes and nodded finally.

"Okay, okay. Just one hour. Then straight home to watch movies. Deal?"

"Deal," she squealed, clapping her hands together.

At closing time the girls cleaned the tables, mopped the floor, and closed the register. Mary locked the door behind her and they both rushed home to get ready for their hour out. Elena showered, curled her hair, and picked out a cute sundress. As she finished applying her makeup there were three quick raps at her front door. Elena padded to the door and slid the chain lock off the latch. She swung the door open to reveal Mary in her blue crop top and black high top shorts. Her red curly hair spiraled out of control beautifully. The smile on her face didn't match her party get up. Her eyes were brimmed bright red, and her typical contagious smile was missing.

"Come in, come in, what's wrong. Do we need to cancel girls night," Elena's forehead furrowed with concern.

"I'm so sorry Elena. They-I couldn't say no." Mary hesitated out in the hallway.

"What are you talking about? Come in here. You're safe here."

"Thank you Elena. Don't mind if we do," A shrill, pointed voice replied. Mary fell out of the way to reveal a small, dark haired, doe eyed woman walking through the threshold. Elena staggered backwards wanting to scream, but she knew better than that. She kept her mouth shut. Mary laid motionless out in the hallway.

"You are one pain in the ass to find Miss Gilbert. Thanks to Mary out there I finally caught a break. She shared some very important things with me. Too bad she won't be alive long enough for me to buy her a drink," Katherine stuck out her lip in a mock pout.

"Katherine, leave. You got your revenge. You've killed two of my friends, isn't that enough?"

"Poor, sweet, Elena. Just think of how many of my friends your father and his associates killed over the years. We are nowhere near finished. Don't worry, though, I'm not here to kill you yet. I just wanted to prove to you that no matter where you go. No matter how hard you try. I will always find you. You can't run from me. And every single person you care about will end up dead because of you. Even Damon," Katherine supplemented her speech with a menacing, arrogant glare.

"Just kill me Katherine. End this. You don't need to drag it out," Elena spat.

"Nah, that's not nearly as fun. I like the chase. You always have to worry about when I'll pop up and who might be next." Katherine ran her hand along the curtains in the living room. She picked up a framed picture of Elena and Damon and examined it.

"Scratch that. I won't kill Damon. He's too much of a looker. Besides he has to have someone after I kill you. Might as well be me, again." Katherine played special emphasis to the last word.

"He would never want you. He only did before because he was bored," Elena growled.

"What are you to him, Elena. Why do you think he wants anything to do with you? You can't honestly believe that you are the absolute only woman he's ever loved in his 170 give or take years. You don't know about our history. I knew him way before we were together in Augustine. In fact, I'm the one who turned him. He never told you that did he. Wonder what else he hides from you," Katherine was reveling in her power over Elena. Tears streaked down her face.

"You're lying," is all she could manage to choke out.

"This is getting boring. I'll leave you with your new information. I'll be back though. Don't be afraid to run again. I'll keep up. I promise," Katherine winked. She stalked to the door and sauntered out, dragging her fingers along the doorway as she rounded the corner.

Elena waited a few minutes to make sure she was really gone before she ran out to her friend still in the hallway. She drug her into the apartment and locked the door behind them. Elena was still crying frantically, but she managed to check Mary's light pulse and call an ambulance. There was no use in trying to call Damon for help. He was too far away to do anything. She still wasn't even sure what she wanted to say to him. All she could do now was sit with her friend and wait for the paramedics to show up.


	3. Chapter 3

The night had been a blur. She felt numb. The starchy hospital room was uncomfortable, but the rhythmic tick of Mary's heart monitor kept Elena grounded. The small red head was tucked tightly in the hospital bed. All of the blood that had once been slathered on her neck was gone and held at bay by a large gauze bandage. It had been hours since they had arrived and Elena was truly exhausted. Now that she was assured Mary would be okay she felt like she could return home and get the rest she really needed.

Elena stood up from her beside chair and rubbed Mary's hand reassuringly. Still no response. Elena hailed a cab and made her way back to her downtown apartment. The ride was quiet and when she finally arrived home she paid her tab and quickly made her way up the building. Her eyes darted around wildly at her surroundings. She wasn't entirely convinced Katherine was gone.

When she was satisfied enough she ran to the door and shoved her key in the lock. The lock jiggled a bit and gave way, letting her in. Once inside, she slammed the door hard behind her and set the chain and deadbolt. A heavy sigh of relief left her chest and she sank down onto the couch. Blood stained her white sundress. It was everywhere. Her living room floor was covered, the hallway outside, even her skin still had crusty dark red marks. There was no way she would be able to explain this to the building manager, or even Damon. Speaking of, she pulled out her phone. Three missed calls, a voicemail, and a text message littered her screen. Damon was apparently frantic that he could not reach her.

"Oh,well," she thought. She didn't have the nerve to talk to Damon right now, not after what Katherine had said. Nobody, but her and Damon, would know the truth. Maybe she was just trying to get under her skin. Or, maybe it was all a big lie. Either way, tonight she had won. Elena was mentally exhausted. The only thing she wanted to do was get cleaned up and go to bed. Work tomorrow was inevitable and she needed all the energy she could muster up for that.

After changing out of those horrid clothes and washing away all of the blood from her body, she finally got to sink into her plush mattress. Sleep came easily and she drifted off into a far away world where things were easy for once. It was a perfect place. No fighting, no vampires, no death. Could a place like this exist anywhere besides here in her mind?

Turns out it couldn't even exist there for very long. Her bedroom door splintered loudly and fell to the floor causing Elena to snap herself awake. Damon stood in the mess, breathing loudly. The overhead light flicked on.

"What the hell happened? Why didn't you answer your phone? Katherine said...," he trailed off. Elena was still trying to wake up and process what all had just happened. Damon stood in the middle of the room, not budging. He was staring at her intently. His gaze was a mixture of anger and genuine concern.

"It's a long story. I have to be at work in the morning, so I need sleep. Please just turn the light off and we will talk later," she tried to reason.

"To hell we are. We are talking about this now. I get a call from some man saying you were out together and ended up at the hospital, I can't reach you, I come home to blood all over the damn place. I can't leave for one day without you getting into some sort of trouble. God knows what all you're keeping from me." Elena sat straight up in bed, her anger hitting her full force.

"For one I'm fine. Absolutely wonderful. I didn't ask for any of this to happen. In fact I was just having Mary over to watch movies and we got attacked. Here. In my home. She had to go to the hospital, and just in case you were wondering she still hasn't woken up. Two- don't accuse me of hiding anything from you when all you've done is lie to me," her face was hot and tinged red.

"Who could have possibly attacked you here? The only two people after you are back in Mystic Falls. I saw Enzo myself while I was down there. What are you even talking about, I haven't lied to you about anything," Damon rose his voice.

"I bet you haven't. Look, I don't want to talk about it tonight. Just get out of here. Go back to Virginia, they need you more than I do right now." She intended for her words to sting. Elena got up and turned the light back off. As she turned to go back to the bed, Damon's hands found her waist. She whipped around quickly ready to smack the hateful grin off of his face, but she stopped. He pulled her to him and leaned his forehead against her shoulder. Her anger melted away. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tight.

"I was so worried about you. I was hours away when I got that abrupt call. I dropped everything and came back. Then all the blood. I was so afraid something had happened to you. I can't lose you Elena. You are my life," Damon whispered to her.

"Why did you lie to me? Tell me the truth about Katherine." Elena pulled away to look into his ice blue eyes.

"I knew her from Augustine. End of story. She meant nothing to me. She was a way to escape. I left her there without a second thought. Now I hate every single thing about her for coming after you," his voice was like stone, cold and emotionless.

"You're still lying. She told me everything tonight Damon," Elena was losing her patience. She walked away and laid back down in bed. She pulled the covers up over her head and tried settling back down in the darkness. The mattress caved in a little next to her and the covers were ripped away.

"I loved her. More than I thought I could ever love someone before. She was everything to me. I would've killed for her. Even before I was a vampire. Stefan and I fought over her constantly, and eventually she was the thing that drove us apart. We literally died to save her. Turns out she played us both. I didn't see her for an entire century until I fell in at Augustine. We hit it off again, but this time she was the one who got played. Is that what you wanted to hear? Are you happy now?" Damon pulled her up to lay on his chest. She didn't resist.

"Yes. I just wanted the truth. I don't like it at all, but at least it's not hidden anymore. Not to dwell on it, but how did you..uhh you know. I don't know much about your previous life," Elena buried herself into his side. This was not a normal couple conversation.

"Die? It's ok Elena, I'm dead. You can say it. Like I said it was because of Katherine. As you can believe in 1864 people weren't exactly pro-vampire. Our father, Giuseppe, actually was head of a council to rid the town of vampires. Stefan and I couldn't let it happen seeing as Katherine was one. There was a plan to trap them in a church and burn it to the ground. So, we did what any love struck young men would do. We took off to save her, or at least warn her. The second we found her and told her so did our dear father. He shot us both," Damon said stoically. Elena winced at the last sentence.

"How did you become a vampire if he shot you?" Elena tilted her head back to look up at him.

"Somebody is awfully curious tonight. To answer your question though, we had been bloodsharing with Katherine. Sounds disgusting I know, but it's actually quite romantic. Anyways, once I had died her blood ended up turning me and all I had to do was complete the transition. Now here I am. Anything else you're wondering about in that pretty little head of yours?"

"Why did you leave her at Augustine. You said you loved her more than anything."

"I did love her. I used that against her when I planned the escape. I knew there was a chance she wouldn't make it out, but I wasn't going to risk my freedom and die for her again. I just flipped that good old humanity switch and went on my merry way. Took me a good decade to decide to switch it back on. I tore all of the big cities up around that time. I was ruthless. You would've thought it was pretty hot," he joked. He ran his fingers down her hair lovingly.

Elena was quiet. Damon had questions of his own, but he hardly wanted to wake her. He chose to anyways for the sake of his sanity over tonight.

"Katherine was the one who attacked you tonight isn't she. I'll kill her" he said bluntly. Elena nodded her head against him.

"She didn't hurt me. She used Mary to find and get to me. Then ripped into her neck to scare me. It worked."

"I won't let her hurt you. Ever." Damon kissed the side of her head and let her quietly fall back into sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Elena woke up long after the sun had risen the next morning. She had slept blissfully for hours, and it was wonderful...until she saw the clock on her bedside table. The screen showed 11:55 in bright red numbers. She was late for work. Almost three hours late to be exact. Panic set through her and she ripped out of the bed running straight for her closet. She wouldn't have time to do much except throw on some clothes, brush her teeth, and run a brush through her hair. Damon grumbled from the other side of the bed and sat up slowly.

"Lena, what are you doing?" His hair had a big cowlick in the back and his eyes were still droopy.

"I'm so late Damon. I overslept. My boss is going to kill me!" Elena dug tore through her clothes trying to find something suitably quick.

A lazy smile crept across his face as he watched her.

"What you think this is funny? It's not," Elena rolled her eyes.

"I've told you plenty of times. You don't have to work, I don't understand why you choose to. Plus we have some things we need to take care of today. No time for work. I'm sure your boss will understand."

"No Damon, I have to go. They were counting on me."

"Elena, honey, I'm serious. We have some very important stuff to do today, I'll go and personally visit whoever the hell at your work has a problem with it. Just call and tell them you had a rough night."

"Oh no, I need to check on Mary. I need to find out if she's woken up yet, what she remembers. I'm so stressed out right now," Elena was rubbing her temples furiously. Damon rose from the bed and pulled her over to him.

"You need to sit down and relax. I'll go to the diner. You go to the hospital. Meet me back up here by two and then we will talk about what we are going to do next," Damon offered.

"But what about Katherine. What if-." Damon cut her off mid sentence by placing a finger over her lips.

"Katherine will not anything. She already has you right where she wants you by worrying so much. I'll be close by, so she wouldn't dare come close to you after what she pulled last night. She knows I'd tear her to pieces."

Elena let out a big huff and nodded. She finished getting ready and kissed Damon gently before heading out to the hospital. Once there she located Mary's room and knocked quietly before walking in. Mary laid motionless on the cramped little bed. She looked as if she hadn't moved at all since Elena had last left. She took a seat next to her friend and rubbed circles into the back of her hand with her thumb. Mary's eyes shot wide open in horror.

"You. Please don't hurt me," she whined pitifully.

"Mary, it's me Elena. I'm not here to hurt you. I'm your friend. I came to make sure you were doing okay," Elena spoke quietly.

"No, no you're the reason I'm here. You attacked me. I almost died because of you." The girl shivered.

"Mary I promise that wasn't me. You were coming to see me. A woman named Katherine stopped you on your way to my apartment. She's the one who hurt you."

"I-I think I remember. She looks just like you. Why does she look just like you. Is she your twin? Are you the good one and she is evil," Mary's usual rambling was beginning.

"No. I don't know why we look so much alike, but we aren't related. I've only recently met her. She's not a good person, though. You need to stay far away from her. Anyways, how are you feeling."

"Hungry. My throat is burning. I feel absolutely drained. The light is killing me. I have a splitting head ache. I'm having severe mood swings. I don't know what's going on, but she must've wiped me out good," the girl laughed sarcastically. Elena frowned and was about to offer any help she could give, when the nurse walked in to check her blood count levels. The round woman pulled out a tiny needle attached to a cylinder. She caught her foot on a loose cord coming from Mary's bed and jammed her own arm into the needle.

"aghhhh," she cried out wincing at the pain. A small stream of blood trickled down her arm. "Let me go get this cleaned up and I'll be right back and we will try again," the woman huffed.

Mary's eyes practically drilled holes into the nurse. Her stare didn't break until she was completely out of the room. When she turned back to Elena, her heart felt like it had dropped down into her stomach. Thin web-like veins scattered up Mary's cheekbones. Her eyes were swallowed in a deep, blood-red color with thick black irises taking up much of the once white space. Elena sat completely still. As minutes passed her face flushed back to normal again.

"Elena, why are you looking at me like that? You look like you've just seen a ghost."

"That was just really odd. The nurse I mean. Scary. Hey I'm going to step out and get some water. I'll be back in a couple of minutes." She slowly got out of her chair and walked out into the hallway. Once she reached the waiting room she dialed Damon's number. When he finally answered all she could do was practically word vomit the whole situation in a hushed tone. She told him about what Mary had done, and her symptoms and he agreed to hurry back from the diner and meet her shortly. Elena decided to sit and wait for him in the front waiting room.

After ten minutes of staring blankly out the glass doors she finally caught sight of Damon. She rushed into his arms and went straight into the details of her visit. He simply nodded his head and asked to see her. Elena took him by the hand and lead him to the room.

"Hey, Damon wanted to stop by to see you. Is that alright," Elena peeked her head in through the door.

Mary was in hysterics. She was crying and thrashing around on the bed. "No, don't come in," she screamed.

Damon pushed passed Elena and straight to the young girl. Blood puddled thickly around her soaking into her white sheets and papery gown. It smeared across her face and down her neck. Her orange hair was wringing with it. The plump, old nurse who had been in the room prior was now laid out on the floor drained and lifeless. Elena sucked her breath in sharply as she rounded the corner. Tears fell down her face and she rushed out of the room. She couldn't handle things like this. Damon was trying to console Mary. He knew what had been wrong with her, as did Elena, but neither one expected it to turn out like this. Damon came out of the room and shoved a bag of clothes into Elena's arms.

"This is Mary's things. We need to get her out of here later tonight. I'm going to talk to some of the nurses. It will be covered. Just whenever the sun goes down get her dressed and I'll get her back to the apartment as fast as possible. She can't be around people right now. She's completing transition and is very dangerous right now. Don't be around her without me," Damon spoke hurriedly.

Elena waited out in the hall as Damon set up the arrangements. He had somehow convinced the custodians to come in and clean the gory mess without even batting an eye. There was so many powers that came with vampirism that Elena was starting to lose track. She made a mental note to ask about this later in the night.

Once things had calmed down now all they could do was play a waiting game with the sun. Damon scoured the hospital for blood bags for himself and Mary. Elena's stomach churned as she watched them suck down the scarlet liquid. The sharp iron metallic stench lingered in the room for hours. Mary and Damon talked for the most part about what would happen next. Elena shut herself off and sat away from the two as much as she possibly could. She was used to the whole vampire thing from Damon, but he kept it away from her. Now that it was staring her right in the face she felt..intimidated, and scared.

Was this all her life would be now? Would she be able to handle her best friend now being a vampire too? She wasn't very sure about her life anymore. Things had just been calming down recently, but now this?

"I think I'm going to go ahead and go home. I'm not feeling too well. Very light headed. Just wait here as long as you need, I'll see you when you get back," Elena whispered. She placed a chaste kiss on Damon's cheek and promptly left. This stress was getting to her. Might as well take the alone time while she still could.


	5. Chapter 5

Elena drug herself back to the apartment and collapsed heavily on the couch. She shut her eyes, but images of the hospital room flooded back in her brain. The smell of the thick blood caked inside of her nostrils. It was almost as if she was back there again. The thought of being around the two of them again soon made her stomach churn once more. She wasn't as sure as she once was about the whole vampire lifestyle. It was one thing to know about it, it was another to experience it first hand, and it was utterly disturbing. Mary killed somebody today. Some innocent woman who had coworkers, and friends, and possibly even a family of her own. She had torn her open and ravaged in her blood. Shivers ran down Elena's spine. She reached for the blanket on the back of the couch and pulled it up over her eyes.

The closing of a door and shuffling feet startled Elena back into consciousness a few hours later. Mary's laughter filled the room now, only pausing when she saw Elena laying on the couch. She froze, eyes widening, and sucking a deep breath in. Damon immediately stepped in between the two girls, blocking Mary's view.

"What are you doing? It's not like I'm going to attack her. It's Elena for heaven's sake," Mary hissed.

"I don't know what you're going to do. Neither do you until you do it. I'm just not taking any chances with her involved. Mary glared daggers into him. She huffed and walked out of the room towards the bathroom. Elena sat up and rubbed at her still sensitive eyes. Damon went over, took her into his arms, and kissed her forehead lightly.

"How are you holding up," his blue eyes were filled with concern. Elena leaded her head against his shoulder and shook it left to right. She couldn't put into words how she felt right now. She couldn't explain the fear she now felt of her best friend and possibly even Damon. Mary had ruthlessly severed someone's throat because she was hungry, whose to say Elena wouldn't be next. Damon hugged her tighter against him.

"She's just new. She can't control herself yet. Imagine having every emotion you have ever felt hit you all at once, but magnified by a hundred. That's a good comparison to what state she's in right now. She doesn't want to hurt anyone, especially you, but she can't keep herself from doing it. So you need to stay away from her as much as you can." Elena nodded against him. Her fears were not abolished. They sat there together in silence for a while before Elena finally spoke.

"The blood today was too much. I know you can't help it, but after seeing that woman it was just too much for me to handle. I had to leave. I love you so much, and I don't want to ever change you, but I can't watch you feed. Even if it's just from a blood bag. My stomach can't handle it." Damon drew back from her.

"That's me Elena. That's who I am. I know I keep it from you usually, but you can't push it away forever and pretend it doesn't exist. If you are going to be with me you have to accept all of me. Yes, that means accepting the fact that I'm not the good person. I've turned off my humanity, I've ravaged towns, I've killed people. I'd kill anyone over you and not think twice about it. Tell me, can you handle that?"

"No. I don't know. I want to be okay with it all. It just scares me Damon. What if you get so worked up one day and accidentally hurt me? It'd be so easy to do," Elena was crying now.

"It would be. I could snap you like a twig at the drop of a hat, but I wouldn't. I have had nearly two decades to work on my control. I would never be in such a bad state to where I would hurt you."

Mary came back into the room and gave the couple an odd look. She could hear their conversation clearly from the other room, but decided not to intervene. Her red curls bounced around her as she skipped off into the kitchen and rummaged through the pantry. She pulled a few ingredients out and started cooking dinner up on the stove.

"What if you lose your temper and I'm just too close. You could seriously hurt me Damon. You come off all calm now, but I know you can be a ticking time bomb when you're emotions are running wild," Elena retorted. Damon took her hand into his own and kissed each fingertip gently.

"Elena. You have my whole heart. Every little piece of it. I would sacrifice everything in the world to keep you safe. You have no reason to worry. You especially have no reason to be afraid of me." This was one of those rare moments that Damon let his emotions break through. He was always very intimate, but never put his heart out in the open this much. She nodded in response to him and laid herself down in his arms. He pushed the loose strands of hair behind her ear and stroked her arm softly.

"This is cute and all, but I'm hungry. Anyone else? I made extras," Mary's tone was apathetic. She had three plates made and sat them out on the bar. She poked at the noodles with her fork before shoving them into her mouth. She promptly spit it back out.

" I think you're food is stale Lena. I can cook, but this tastes like shit," her face wrinkled up in disgust. Damon got up and fetched the two remaining plates and took one to Elena who quickly tested out the food.

"I don't know what you're talking about, mine tastes great," she shrugged. Damon let out a small, amused laugh.

"When you turn, your taste buds aren't the same. Now you're made for blood, not pasta. Of course it's going to taste horrible. It sucks, but you have to eat, it helps keep the cravings down. If it doesn't do the trick I've got plenty of bourbon that will." Marry frowned a little, but continued eating. A calm silence settled over them while they all finished up their dinner. It seemed almost normal for a few minutes.

"Well, I think I'm just going to go ahead and turn in. Damon?" Elena looked over at him longingly.

"I'm going to help clean up really quick, and I'll be back there soon. Promise," he gave her a quick peck on the lips and started carrying plates into the kitchen. Elena went back to their room and exchanged her jeans and tshirt for silky pajama shorts and a tank top. Damon stocked Mary up on blood bags for the night and advised her to stay then joined Elena in their bed.

The room was dark, but he could feel Elena snuggle up against him under the covers. She threw her arm over his chest and closed off any space there was between them. Damon stared up at the ceiling, but couldn't bring himself to close his eyes. He thought about Stefan a lot, and couldn't shake the uncomfortable feeling that he didn't even know where his brother was yet. He had been so caught up in Elena and now Mary, that he hadn't gotten around to any investigating.

"Damon," Elena whispered softly. She lifted her head up to look at him.

"Hmm."

"I'm sorry about today. You should know, I'm not afraid of you," Elena kissed his lips softly. Damon deepened the kiss and laced his fingers into her hair pushing her closer to him.

"You should be," he smirked. He flipped her over onto her back and pinned wrists down on the mattress. He trailed wet kisses along her jawline and playfully nipped at her neck. She squirmed and giggled underneath him. He didn't relent, and ran his hands over her curves and captured her lips greedily. He wanted all of her.

"Do it " Elena moaned as he nibbled below her earlobe.

"Be patient. It'll be worth it," Damon smiled on her lips.

"No, not that. Well that too, but I want to try something new," she smiled seductively. Damon paused and cocked his head to the side.

"What do you want, baby," he asked cautiously.

"Bite me. I want to give all of me to you. Just try it, if it's too much I'll tell you. Please, Damon," Elena urged. Damon pulled away from her slightly not knowing whether to be grateful or horrified. Not two hours ago she was stressed out about him hurting her, now she was practically begging for it.

"Elena, now's not the time. You need to be able to trust me first. I don't want to scare you, and I know it'll be more painful for you than me," he tried reasoning with her. She pulled him back to her, and sucked at his lower lip. Then she skillfully reached around and maneuvered him out of pants.

"Please," she pleaded. "I trust you. You won't hurt me." That's all it took. Damon unraveled then and there. He tore the short shorts away from her body and entered her carefully. She gasped as she took all of him in. As he moved she moaned in quiet ecstasy. He silenced her with aggressive kisses.

"Bite me, Damon," she moaned louder. He couldn't resist the invitation any longer. He kissed his way down her jawline, and moved his hands to cup her breasts. Ever so softly his tongue marked a small circle on her neck, a few inches below her ear. His razor sharp canines lengthened and he caressed them against her tender skin. As he thrust into her again he bit into her neck, sucking gently. Her nails dug deeply into his back and small scarlet ribbons trickled down from the incisions. Her moans grew louder and uncontrollable. Damon relished in the pleasure he was dealing her. After a few more thrusts she reached her release and cried out his name as she came. Not yet down from her high, she tore his mouth from her neck and kissed him passionately. Blood smeared across her lips, but she could hardly care. Damon sped up and reached his peak as she knotted her fingers in his hair roughly. After all was over, Damon rolled over on his back and pulled her onto his chest.

"That was amazing," he panted out. Elena giggled into him.

"And you didn't even hurt me," she boasted.

"No, I think I got more of a beating than you did. My back has to be bleeding," Damon laughed.

"I'm so sorry, I really didn't mean to. It was just very, wow."

"Don't be sorry. That was the hottest thing ever. I love you crazy pants," he kissed her nose lightly. Elena pulled her hair back out of her face and climbed up onto him.

"Now, how about round two," she teased flirtatiously.

"You're so perfect."


End file.
